Improvement in clock-pillars



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLFORD H. NETTLETON, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.

'IMPROVEMENT IN CLOCK-PILLARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent NO. 42, l0, dated March 29, 1864.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLEonD H. NETTLE- TON, of Bristol, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented, made, and applied to use a certain new and useful Improvement in Clock-Pillars 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the said invention, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, wherein` Figurel is a plan of a machine employed by me for making said pillars. Fig. 2 is an elevation ofthe same. Fig. 3 is an elevation of myimproved clock-pillar, and Fig. 4 is an elevation of the clock-pillars heretofore con- Stucted.

Similar marks of reference denote the same parts.

Clocks are provided with pillars attached to one of the plates by riveting, and, passing through holes in the other clock-plate, retain the same by pins inserted through the pillars. These pillars are provided with shoulders that d( termine the distance from one plate to the other. Heretofore these pillars have been made of the shape shown in Fig. 4, with a stiaght body and ends turned down smaller, so as to leave the shoulders required for keeping the plates apart. In the manufacture of these pillars difliculty exists in keeping the cutting-tools in order, so as to turn the ends ott' accurately to the point required for the shoulder. Beside this there is considerable metal in the clockpillars thatis unnecessary, as the strength of said pillars is determined by the size of the ends.

The nature of my said invention consists in a clock-pillar formed by swaging or spreading collars to form shoulders by endwise pressure upon the wire while confined in suitable dies. My pillar is thus a new article of manufacture, much lighter, cheaper, and more accurate than the pillars heretofore constructed.

In the drawings, a is a shaft supported in suilable bearings, and b b are bevel-gears to the gears c c on the shafts d d, sustained in bearings, and having at the ends crank-pins, e e, communicating, by links, a reciprocating motion to the sliding dies f and g.

The meansfor giving these dies f and g the required movement might be varied if desired.A

h is a two-part holding-jaw, one part of g, fr

which is attached to the slide`t,`sustained in VA-grooves on the bed of the machine, and the i other jaw is upon the slide k, that is-ab'ove the jaw-slide t', and connected'therewith by screws in slots. The cam n Yupon the saft a, acting upon vtoe-pieces l and m upon the slide k, actuates this holding-jaw." rIhe holding-jaw his formed with semicylindrical notches in each face, forming an opening of the size of the wire formingthe clock-pillar, and recesses at the ends are formed of a size and shape corresponding with the collars on the clock-pillar, and the ends of the dies f and gare formed with cavities corresponding to the s ze and shape of the ends of the pillars. The Wre is supplied in a straight condition to the (u t Ar-l block q, and passed through the same until stoppedrby a gage ,f and o is a sliding cutter actuated by an eccentric on a, that cuts oft the blank for the clock-pillan, p, Fig. Vl, repv resents the wire passing (from a reel thrt ugh a straightener) to the cutter-block q. Ihe parts are so timed that the wire is fed in when thejaws h*v are on line to receive the same; then the cutter o separates the blank as thev slide le and half-jaw, attached thereto, comes up against the otherhaltjaw, h, on 1', the s prin gf r detai ning the slide t' sufficiently-to hold the blank between the jaws h while they move together to the line of thedies f and g,at which time the end of the slide t, taking the end of its groove, remains stationary,while the cam a acts on the slide k with sufficient force to hold the blank iirmly while the diesf and g come u p, receive the ends of the wire, and by the endwise pressure on the same swell out the collars on the unsupported part between the ends offand g and thejaws h, forming the pillar, as in Fig. 3, at one operation and with the greatest accuracy, the same being much lighter and equally strong when applied to the clock plates.v

What I claim, and oesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The clock-pillar formed with collars swaged or swelled out by endwise compression, substantially as specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature this 29th day of January, 1864.

W. H. NET'ILETON.

Witnesses HENRY BECKWITH, W. H. BRADLEY. 

